Expansion valve



.1. SMITH.:

MMIII EXPANSION VALVE.

Mar. 27, 1923.

ORIGINAL FILED JULY I0, 1920.

UWE/vm@ HAzoa d. SMITH,

TOR Eys Patented lidar. 27, 1923.

Ara

HAZOR J. SMITH, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNCR, BY DIRECT AND ivinsiin assieme MENTS, 0F ONE-FOURTH TO WILLARD REID AND ONE-HALF TO ALFRED HASTINGS CHPIN, BOTH OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

EXPANSION VALVE.

.pplicaton filed July 10, 1920, Serial N o. 395,423. Renewed October 10, 1922. Serial No. 593,654.

To aZ/ whom t may concern.:

Be it lrnown that I, HAon J. SMi'rii, a citizen of the United Stat-es, residing at Chicago. inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois7 haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Expansion Valves. ot which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to expansion valves which are adapted to operate by differential pressure. The valve 01T' this invention is adaptable to a number of usesbut it is especially designed for use in a refrigerating system, so the valve must be very sensitive to changes. in pressure in the low side and at the same time. the differential pressuremeans must be above the frost line so that they do not clog with ice. Further, the de vice must have all its parts accessible to lower the cost of keeping the valve in service.

The invention consists of a valve unit having a body portion adapted to encircle `the valve mechanism. From the top of the body portion extends a differential. pressure mechanism which operates to raise and lower a stein carrying a valve head, which valve head is adapted to seat, when it is moved upwardly in a downwardly directed valve seat. The valve seat is carried by a hood-like inember encircling the end of an inlet pipe leading from the liquid receiver of an ice mai chine and the pipe is there-fore .filled with a refrigerating agent. In opening, thc valve tends to let the agent out of the valve Y seat in a conical stream or spray but this is collected in a cup-shaped lower closure member for the body portion of the expansion valve, and directs it into the outlet pipe or pipes leading to the expansion coils. The diderential pressure means are preferably a vbellows member having a diaphragm carried by the valve stem, a hood or cover for this bellows supportedV from the valve main body and?. an spring supported from the hood ein erting an upward' tension upon the valve stern.

E have illustrated one embodiment of my invention which is the best ci which I am at present informed and in the accompanying drawings; y i f Figure 1 shows side eleva-tion or' the invention with its interior parts shown in dotted lines;

Figure shows a vertical jthedevice on the asis ci? the section through inlet passage.

In the drawings. the numeral 11 indicates the niaiii body portion of the automatic valve closed at its bottoni by a cover 12 having an interior cup-shaped part 13 opening into a discharge passage oi' pipe/1iV which is connected to the low side of the refiigerating system in which the device is used. The

ilylddyd upper part ot' the main body portion 11 is i closed by cover l5 which carries a bellowslike member 16 which in turn operates a diaphragm 17 secured to a valve stem 18. The upper and lower covers 15 and 12 ai'e held togethei'by bolts 19 passing through bosses 2() on the upper cover 15 and 21 on the lower cover 12.

The bolt bosses Q() on the upper cover 15 support a cover or hood 22 which protects the bellows member 16 and supports a spring 23 which bears upwardly upon an adjusted screw Qd carried by `the valve stem 18.

`The valve stein carries at its lower end a .stiri'up 25 supporting a valve block 26 and the valve block carries an upwardly yextend- .ing valve 2T of substantially conical shape which `is adapted to co-act with a down- `from the upper cover 15.

rlhe device of this invention is an automatic valve especially for use in refrigerating systems where the tension orn Athe low side is less than atmospheric pressure and its motion. is derived from the diiierence in pressure between the inside ci? the low side and the atmosphere. ln operation the inlet passage 30 is attached to thev liquid receiver of the ice machine and is therefore lilled with refrigeratin'g agent while the outlet pipe 1e is attached to the expansion lines. lf pressure within the valve body is equal to atmospheric pressure, no differential ein ists and there is no tendency of 'the valve to open against the residual tension oiL Milli spring 23. But let a vacuum beestablished within the vbody of the valve chamberv when the difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the valve body as exerted uponv the head or diaphragm 17 exceeds the tension of the spring 23, the springwill bey compressed, the diaphragm 17 moved and erating agent or medium will `enter the valve chamber in a substantially conical stream due to the shape of the valve butthis will be collected by the cup-shape 13 of the closure member 12. Vhen suicient refrigerant has passed into the valve to relieve the` tension, the spring 23 will close the valve by itsA upward pressure upon the adjusting nut 24 carried by the valve 'stem-18,. f The nut 24 can be adjusted to permit the carrying of any degree of vacuum desired in the low side. v

l The advantages of this valve are manifold when used with vthe lower volatiles as it is a bottom discharge Valve. Itis very sensitive to changes in pressure in the low side and by its general arrangement the syphonic bellows' is above the-'frost line and does not clog with ice. The accessibility of a spring for counteracting the'actio'n of the bellows and a hooded member protecting the bellows and supporting the spring. A

2. An expansion'valve having a body portion, a closure for the body, a valve, differential pressure means for operating the valve including the trumpet shaped .support for the means extending from the closurefor.

the body portion of the valve.

3. An expansion valve having a metallic valve seat, a non-metallic valve, afstem'for the valve, a bellows-like member for operating the valve stern, a spring for counteracting the action of the bellows an'da hooded member protecting the bellows and supporting the spring. y

In testimony whereof I afix my signature. HAZOR-J. SMITH.

Witnesses WILLARD REID, H. Y. SMITH. 

